


Chrysalis

by Project0506



Series: Soft Wars [31]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brothers, Clones, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff and Humor, Gen, brothers being brothers, gen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23554156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/pseuds/Project0506
Summary: The boys are all due to grow out of their armor tomorrow.  It turns out CCs have a specific ritual for that, and Squad Shebs finally has a little brother to participate.
Series: Soft Wars [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683775
Comments: 38
Kudos: 854





	Chrysalis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SniperinaJumper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SniperinaJumper/gifts).



> Sorry Jazzy 'molting day' just didn't stick. I pretentioused it up some.

“Absolutely not, put it back. Cody make him put it back.”

Cody pauses in the doorway, thinks about turning around. He can find some place to strategically linger until Ponds has worked off whatever’s got him in a strop this time. Maybe the Littles? They’re always excited for any attention at all, and a CC in their barracks always sends them into spasms of glee. It’s wonderful for his self-esteem.

Ponds, unfairly perceptive for all he plays the void-brain, snags his arm before he can make an escape. “ _Kote_ ," he snaps. “Look at what your CT brought into _my barracks_!”

“Why is he only my CT when he’s ticked you off?” Resigned, Cody trudges in and obediently looks. Spread out on his bunk next to a hovering Rex is… “Oh.”

Rex twitches at his non-response. “I got the best ones!” he protests, but uncertainly. He’s trying to see what it is that the CCs see that he can’t. “Some of the first picks.”

“You’re not wearing that,” Ponds says. “I’m insulted, you’ve insulted me, put it back.”

The smaller cadet picks at the lining of the fourth stage helmet mulishly. “Everyone else already got their armor picks,” he mutters. “All that’s left is gonna be garbage. And Growth Cycle Day is _tomorrow_.”

“You’ll be wearing ours,” Ponds informs him flatly. “ _Obviously_.”

Rex blinks at both of them, stunned.

“Rex’ika,” Cody says, taking pity on him. “We’re _all_ doing our next growth cycle tomorrow. We’ll be done with our fourth stage armor tonight. You’ll be wearing that. That was never in question.”

“Oh.” Rex ducks his head to hide his growing flush, but his reddened ears give him away. Ponds grins at Cody over his head and mouths ‘cute’.

Cody rolls his eyes at him, but that only makes him grin harder. “Do CT’s not do that?”

Rex shakes his head but doesn’t look up. “You just. Grab from the next stage racks, after the older batch turns theirs in. Gotta time it right to get a good pick.”

“CT’s are _weird_ ,” Ponds muses and jostles Rex’s shoulder in a silent ‘present company excluded’.

“We armor up from racks too,” Cody points out. “But 17 picks our gear for us, any bargaining over good or bad picks happen with the Alphas. We’re always set because 17 plays dirty. But even with that, we’ll each wear a piece from his stages, up until we get our own whites.” Cody shrugs. “He leaves notes for us in them, pointers for the trick exercises they have scheduled for whatever stage we’re in.

“And _now_ we have our very own Little to pass _our_ gear down to and you’re trying to take that away from me Rex’ika? You’re breaking my heart.” He says it jokingly but Ponds, Cody knows, was especially excited for this. The inside of the backplate he’s passing down is covered in incredibly tiny writing, every single thing Ponds could think of to say over the past tenday.

“How can I break it if you buried it at sea already,” Rex mutters, still utterly incapable of an entire conversation without being a little asshole. Ponds grabs him by the knee, flips him and follows him down to the floor for some aggressive cuddling.

“My spiny nexu kit’s gonna grow some actual quills tomorrow!” he wails theatrically while Rex struggles vainly to extract himself.

“I’m gonna be big enough to _beat your karking face in_ ,” he screeches.

Cody sighs. He’s entirely surrounded by _children_.

“Ponds.” He kicks at Ponds’ ankle. “Let him up.”

With one last vicious nuzzle, Ponds does. Rex pops up like he’s spring loaded and hastily retreats behind Cody in case Ponds gets any further ideas. Cody can’t see it, but he’s entirely positive Rex stuck his tongue out.

“Come on,” he ushers his brother towards the armor laid out on his bunk. “Pack that up and return it. We already have you covered.”

“Except you and Wolffe still need to fight over who gets to give him their helmet,” Ponds points out from his floor recline, like the traitor he is. Cody spares him a glare.

“I think we already know how _that misunderstanding_ will be resolved.” Rex giggles quietly.

“I’ll swap in his visor when you win, so he won’t feel too bad,” he says loyally, arms loaded with some other squad’s armor.

Rex is Cody’s favorite brother and he loves him best. Cody grabs the offending helmet and the pauldrons Rex can’t juggle with the rest of what he’s already got. Idly Cody wonders how he even got it all here in the first place.

“You already turned in your stage threes? It’s okay,” Cody consoles at his nod. “Next time around you can find some Littles of your own to give it to, alright?”

Rex nods again, and shuffles pieces around so he can worm a hand free to hang on to Cody’s sleeve. “Thanks,” he murmurs. Cody drops a hand on his polycotton-fluff hair and ruffles it.

He’s a prickly little nexu, their Rex’ika, but no one can deny he’s cute.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [For a Man should Walk Tall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23628721) by [Project0506](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/pseuds/Project0506)




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